


lip paint

by commanderofraccoons



Category: Mean Girls (2004), Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: Angst, Canon, F/F, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Unbeta'd, karen/gretchen and cady/aaron are background, the hc that janis can do plastic makeup, this isn't super in depth in makeup land but each part mentions it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 15:48:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17748791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commanderofraccoons/pseuds/commanderofraccoons
Summary: “You wanted the new swatch I bought the other day, right?”“Whatever you think looks good, Jan.”Janis popped the cap off the liquid lipstick, leaning in closer to apply it to Regina’s mouth. “Pucker for me.”orFive times Janis is faced with plastic fashion.





	lip paint

**Author's Note:**

> this kinda stemmed from the idea of janis being involved with the plastics pre-canon and how that lifestyle kinda impacts her later? particularly in how she physically expresses herself and how she made up her own style to break away from that... but like... it's still there. she's still able to do that makeup, she knows how plastics dress, etc. it's just there for rejanis angst, thanks.

**September 2013**

 

“Gretchen isn’t coming?”

 

Janis pulled the bag off her shoulder, dropping it onto Regina’s pink bedspread.

 

“Nope,” Regina smiled, popping the ‘p’ brightly. “I wanted it to just be us.”

 

Unzipping the front section of the bag, Janis shook her head, fighting her own forming smile. “It’s been a while since it was just the two of us, huh? Feels like we’ve both been too busy.”

 

Regina jutted out her bottom lip dramatically, and Janis purposely looked away from her to avoid laughing. “You’re trying to replace me with that new boy, and I’m not letting it happen.”

 

“Shut up. I’m not going anywhere.” Janis plopped herself into the princess-themed chair across from Regina, who was swinging her legs off the side of her bed. She set a few of the makeup brushes next to Regina’s leg, placing her hands on the tops of her knees. “Your mom’s just taking us to the mall, right? How do you want me to do your makeup?”

 

“My foundation and eyes are already done.” She rested her own hands atop Janis’s, smile back in place. “If you just wanna do my lips, you can.”

 

“You wanted the new swatch I bought the other day, right?”

 

“Whatever you think looks good, Jan.”

 

Janis popped the cap off the liquid lipstick, leaning in closer to apply it to Regina’s mouth. “Pucker for me.”

 

Regina raised a brow before puckering her lips, her eyes never leaving Janis’s face.

 

“Sorry, I don’t have a lip liner. Just stay still.”

 

Janis worked quickly, finding the lack of music in the background a little uncomfortable. Regina almost always had music playing when Janis would do her makeup, or even when they were just lounging in her room. Maybe Regina finally listened to her when she told her _Blurred Lines_ was a terrible song, especially since it always came on the radio when they were together.

 

She pulled back, capping the lipstick tube and dropping into her pile on the bed. Regina’s lips remained puckered, however, and she leaned forward, closing the distance between the two. Janis froze, not entirely unused to this with Regina, but taken aback. It only took her a moment to gently return it, feeling the newly applied liquid lipstick smear against her own lips.

Janis was the one to break the kiss, leaning her elbows on the mattress around Regina’s thighs. Regina’s eyes remained closed, a smile on her now almost bare lips.

 

“How long are we going to be doing that?” Janis asked curiously as Regina dazedly opened her eyes.

 

“Mm, I don’t know.” She reached her hands out, resting them on the top of Janis’s shoulders, toying with the ends of her dark hair. “Until you replace me with that guy at school.”

 

Janis rolled her eyes and leaned away from her, placing her hands back on Regina’s knees. “I told you that’s not gonna happen.”

 

Regina kept her own hands in Janis’s hair, still softly smiling. “That color is so much better on you than me.” She swiped her thumb over Janis’s lips, and she thought the girl would try kissing her again before she pulled away completely. “I think I’m gonna need something else. What do you have?”

 

She tapped the swatches on the bed, and Regina was suddenly examining them in great detail. “Wipe that off.” Regina nodded toward Janis with the tilt of her head. “I have to see how they all look on you.”

 

Janis shook her head, failing to fight back a laugh. She’d been prepared for that, at least, pulling her wipes from her bag. “Fine. Which one’s next?”

 

* * *

 

 

**August 2015**

 

It was the morning of her first day back to school, and Janis truly just wished the ground would swallow her whole instead. She’d missed eighth grade graduation and opted out of returning for her Freshman year, not yet ready to show her face. Her mom had relented to homeschooling after only a few days of arguing, and Janis suspected it was because she felt guilty for her daughter’s situation.

 

Still, her mom’s work schedule didn’t make homeschooling easy, and somehow Janis had been talked into going back to Northshore for her Sophomore year. Damian was still there, of course, and he had been a vital point in her eventual decision. After everything that happened, he was the only one Janis still had contact with, and he wanted her back at school with him. If only to brave the hallways with someone else by his side.

 

She could understand that. Janis could do this for him.

 

Her knuckles were pressed up against the cold ceramic of her bathroom sink as she took in her appearance in the mirror. She shaved down the one side of her head a few weeks ago when her enrollment paperwork had been finished, and though she regretted it at first, she realized that it was sort of therapeutic. Janis couldn’t go waltzing back into her old school with her former look, and this was a way to show that she had changed.

 

She eyed the makeup lying on the counter in front of her, and the immediate distaste that came from seeing so many familiar _pink_ lip glosses and _bright_ blushes finalized her decision. Janis unclenched her fists and lightly pushed the items to the other side of the counter, pulling out the darker makeup she and Regina wouldn’t even wear outside of each other’s rooms.

 

And that’s how Janis walked into school wearing purple lipstick and eyeshadow, turning the head of every passerby. Damian had joined her side on their walk to their lockers, and that’s when people began to recognize her. She heard her name thrown around several times, but Damian’s presence helped distract her from whatever it was that they were saying.

 

Seeing Regina was inevitable, she knew, and she wondered if the girl had a clue she was coming back. Their eyes met in the hall, and the look on her face made Janis breathless. Regina stopped in her tracks, eyes widened, with a clueless Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith trailing behind her. Janis opened her new locker— no slurs written on it this time— and watched the girl analyze her with a hungry sort of curiosity. She seemed unimpressed with her new wardrobe, and Janis couldn’t help but wonder if she remembered the swatch name that was currently on her lips.

 

Regina broke from her trance before mumbling something to a confused Karen and walking to her own locker. It shared a wall with Janis’s, and the portrait view of Regina surprised her. Evidently, no one else could notice it, but Janis saw her foundation wasn’t evenly blended by her jaw, and her eyeliner was a little too high above her eyelashes.

 

Regina always preferred it when Janis did her makeup; her hand was steadier, and she was, frankly, much more artistic. Did she really struggle to do it without Janis’s help? Gretchen, who Janis would occasionally try their newer products on, seemed completely flawless. She doubted Regina would ever ask Gretchen for tips on anything, but couldn’t the girl have gotten it together by now?

 

She looked away, willing herself to not give a shit about Regina George and her apparent lack of makeup skills.

 

* * *

 

 

**August 2017**

 

“I don’t understand,” Damian attempted, his mouth full of Pringles. He chewed for a few moments, the chatter from around the cafeteria filling his silence, then swallowed. “Caddy’s gonna get eaten alive if she keeps eating lunch with them looking like that.”

 

Janis was avoiding looking in their direction at all, attempting a sketch of Damian in his _Sound of Music_ costume from this past summer’s production. “Hm. She’ll learn.”

 

“Yeah, but you know how she needs to look to pretend to be plastic. Why don’t you just help her?”

 

“Could look suspicious,” she lied, still not looking up from her sketchbook. Janis knew that the likelihood of this getting traced back to her was slim, unless they would, for some reason, slip up and reveal everything. “She’s swimming in your pink polo, but she’ll figure it out. I’m sure they’re telling her the rules right now.”

 

“Yeah, but you could show her how to do her makeup. Maybe pick out some plastic-verified outfits.” He pushed aside his Pringles, most likely vying for Janis’s full attention. “If you want this to work, then she needs to look the part. It’s like my acting coach says-“

 

“Damian,” she interrupted, not wanting to hear another one of Coach Amy’s insane theories. “Look, I don’t do that anymore.” Janis’s sketchbook joined Damian’s Pringles, and she was trying not to glance over to the figures of pink to her left. “I haven’t done that in a long time.”

 

“That’s bullshit.” He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning them against the tabletop. “You beat my face with your expensive makeup all the time when I need you to.”

 

“That’s different, and you know it,” Janis said pointedly, hoping Damian would catch her drift. Dressing Damian in his Frank N. Furter gear wasn’t at all equal to this. “I’m not doing any of that with her, okay?”

 

“Just because we don’t kiss when you’re-“

 

“Seriously?” Janis glanced around her quickly, praying no one heard too much of their conversation. “I told you that in confidence.”

 

“Please tell me that’s not what this is about.” Damian suddenly looked serious, and Janis couldn’t bring herself to look away from him. “You want Caddy to hang around her and tell you shit. Why? Do you… _miss_ her? Do you wanna know how she is?” She didn’t answer him immediately, and his serious look became concerned. “Janis, what’s going on with you?”

 

“Damian, I hate her.” He stared back at her, challenging her to break under his gaze. She wouldn’t budge, though, picking up her pencil to continue the sketch.

 

They settled into silence for a few minutes, and Janis could feel Damian’s eyes still fixed on her. She was afraid to look back up, knowing he could potentially get her to spill anything.

 

“You need to tell Caddy about your past with Regina.”

 

Janis didn’t pop her head up like she was sure he wanted her to, but she did stop mindlessly drawing. She honed in on the right side of the paper in front of her, trying to think of what to say. “She doesn’t need to know.”

 

“Oh, sure, let her hear Regina’s side instead.”

 

She went back to sketching the cufflinks on his suit. “Regina doesn’t talk about me.”

 

“Doesn’t she?”

 

She finally looked back at up him, pencil tightly clenched in her palm. “What do you want me to say?”

 

“Admit that this is an attempt to have a connection with Regina again.”

 

Janis scoffed, forming her expression to look as offended as possible. “Did I not just say I hate her?”

 

“Making Caddy spy on her and tell you about the shit she’s up to doesn’t exactly spell out hatred.” He brought his pudding cup closer to him but made no move to open it. If there was one way to tell Damian was being serious, it was that he wasn’t eating his food.

 

“Then we can make this about revenge,” she decided, and the immediate quirk of his eyebrow made her feel unsettled. “We have her learn whatever we need to know, and then we… take her down.” Janis practically whispered the last part, as if afraid to say it.

 

He sighed loudly, bringing both his hands up to the top of his head. “As your gay husband, I may have to put my foot down when this gets too far.”

 

Janis snorted, feeling a bit of relief that Damian was back to acting normal. They didn’t usually get serious often, especially not about this subject, and she was worried they’d end up genuinely fighting. “But I’m not helping Caddy with makeup or hair or whatever. I don’t want her asking any questions.”

 

“You don’t have to justify it to me.” He dropped his hands, finally pulling the cover off his pudding. “I know the real reason.”

 

Janis looked away then, only to see four pink-clad girls around a table to their left. Why she and Damian sat so close to them, she’d never know. Cady seemed uncomfortable, facial expression tight as Gretchen passionately explained something to her. Karen was playing with the ends of her fork, not paying attention to anyone around her. Regina, on the other hand, was eating a whole plate of cheese fries, staring blankly in front of her.

 

_She still loves food._

 

The girl was distracted by something, and Janis felt a jab when she noticed Regina’s eyeliner finally looked perfect.

 

* * *

 

 

**April 2018**

 

Cady’s speech managed to resound with the entire Junior class— something Janis didn’t think could be possible at this point in their lives. After junior high, her school fell downhill, the students getting crueler by the year. There was some sort of peace among them currently, as if Cady had unearthed some massive secret and lifted the pressure of it off all their shoulders.

 

Cady was in the center of the room, wrapped up in Aaron and his lion costume— who, for some reason, hadn’t been escorted out yet. Karen was placing her piece of the tiara in Gretchen’s cleavage, the latter looking about ready to faint at any minute. The glitter from Damian’s suit jacket could be seen from across the room, and she could make out his figure laughing with some Sophomore boy whose name she didn’t know.

 

Which left Regina, who was standing uncomfortably close to her in the corner.

 

Despite what Janis assumed, Shane hadn’t been her actual date to Spring Fling; he was instead taken with some girl on the left side of the dance floor, not having stopped for the last half hour. Surprisingly, Regina didn’t seem upset by that at all, seemingly content to stand in the corner with Janis for the rest of the night. The spinal halo most likely didn’t help with a whole lot of moment, she supposed.

 

“Your makeup looks really good.”

 

Janis kept facing forward, not realizing Regina was actually speaking to her. Regina, clearly irritated, nudged her elbow into Janis’s arm, attempting to garner her attention.

 

“Shit, did you say something?”

 

Regina rolled her eyes and considered not even repeating her compliment. “I said your makeup looks really good.”

 

She blinked a few times, really looking at Regina for the first time all night. Her lips were painted a light pink, and her lashes were extended longer than usual. A part of Janis couldn’t help but feel proud at the obvious improvements she’s made over the years, even without her there.

 

“Oh, thanks. You, too.”

 

“You’d have to compliment my mom, then.” Regina’s shoulders slumped a bit, less bitterness in her voice than Janis expected. “She had to do it.”

 

“Really?”

 

“It’s a little too hard to try putting it on in this, yeah.”

 

They went silent for a moment, Janis considering facepalming for not considering the girl’s condition in the first place. For some reason, she’d been brought back to the idea that Regina still needed Janis to do her makeup, but the thought was ridiculous. Her face had been completely put together since the middle of Sophomore year.

 

“I know we have a lot of shit to sort out or whatever,” Janis breathed, anxiously shifting in place. Saying that to Regina was harder than she thought, even if they both knew it was true. “And I don’t really know how long you have to be in that thing, but… I mean,” she paused, and she could tell she had Regina’s full attention from her peripheral. “Caddy wants us all to be friends, right?” Regina looked at her again finally, and she attempted to offer a nod, a wave of pain coming over her face at the motion. “I’m not saying now or anything, but, I don’t know, maybe if we manage to be friends again, I could, like, potentially help you with your makeup if you need it. Or something.”

 

Regina was focused back on the dance floor, Janis noticing that her main subject was a wildly dancing Tyler Kimble. She seemed to be thinking, and Janis only wished she could get inside her head. “This isn’t like a pity offer, is it?” Janis opened her mouth to deny it when Regina cut her off. “Would it be like old times?”

 

Janis shouldn’t have even said anything. _Why_ did she anyway? She was trying to will her feet to walk away from Regina and push the conversation completely out of mind. She’ll just tell Cady that they could never be friends, and she wouldn’t have to deal with the downfall of this again.

 

_Would you go? Move!_

 

“Not like- shit. That’s not what I meant.” Her voice was soft, and Janis stopped internally screaming at her feet at the sound of it. She had to be a masochist for letting this conversation continue. “I’m sorry about eighth grade. I’m sorry. I probably should’ve started with that.”

 

Contrary to popular belief, Janis had been craving for Regina to say those words to her for years. It wasn’t enough, obviously; it would take a lot more than just an apology while under the influence of pain medication, but it was a step in the right direction.

 

“We can get into that another night, okay? There’s still a lot we need to talk about, but I don’t really wanna do it here.”

 

Regina made no noise of rebuttal, and Janis felt herself sag in relief. Cady’s impromptu entrance into Spring Fling and emotional speech was a lot to take in for the night, and she wasn’t sure she could handle their eventual conversation on top of that. Or even just in general.

 

“But to answer your question, I’d really like that if you could.”

 

It took her a split second before she realized what Regina meant, and she made no effort to stop her small smile in response.

 

“Cool.”

 

For the first time since she was twelve years old, Janis considered what it would be like to be friends with Regina.

 

* * *

 

**February 2019**

 

“No one else is coming?”

 

“Nope. That okay?”

 

“Works for me.” Janis lightly threw her makeup bag on the top of Regina’s bed, the sense of nostalgia and deja vu hitting her all at full force. Regina had decided to switch back rooms with her parents toward the beginning of the school year, and Janis felt like she was time traveling every time she was inside it. The setup hadn’t changed at all.

 

“Great. Well, I had no plans to go anywhere, but you can still play with my makeup a little if you want.”

 

“We can.” Janis took her usual chair across from Regina, slouching back into it. The irony of the situation didn’t fall flat on her; she’d had evenings like this with the girl more times than she could count, and the familiar background music coming from Regina’s side stereo made her feel like she was in junior high again. A year ago, she never would’ve imagined this is where she’d be right before graduating.

 

“Give me a good lipstick. I’m thinking of trying out a new color.”

 

“Yeah?” She questioned as Regina began rifling through her bag, searching for whatever she wanted. “Any particular brand?”

 

“Nah, we can get to that later,” Regina waved her off, pulling out one of the larger tubes out of pouch. “This’ll work.”

 

She handed over a color that was eerily similar to the purple shade Janis wore for the last three years of high school. It wasn’t quite as dramatic, but for Regina, it would speak volumes.

 

“This definitely isn’t pink.”

 

Regina seemed almost embarrassed, shifting from her position on top of the bed. “No, but I thought you might be more comfortable when it’s on you later.”

 

It took Janis a moment for the words to sink in before she silently shook her head. She should’ve figured this would happen by now when it came to Regina. It happened at eleven years old, and, evidently, at eighteen, too. They’d had too many conversations to count at this point; the entire year had been spent rebuilding something new between them. Some of their old behaviors would sneak through at times, but the new foundation they were building on made them feel less uncomfortable, less guilty.

 

“How thoughtful of you.” She took the tube from the girl’s hand and leaned forward in her seat, inching closer to Regina. Unlike the previous times, Janis was the one to make the first move, lightly pressing her lips against the other girl’s. Regina responded immediately, of course, and Janis knew this was her plan all along.

 

Though she knew all the free time Gretchen and Karen were spending together because of Janis and Regina’s plans was doing them wonders.

 

Regina was the one to break the kiss, also unusual, except the smug smile on her lips seemed to say that they were nowhere near finished. “You have to put it on me first, Janis.”

 

She stayed in close proximity, unscrewing the lid while keeping eye contact with Regina. “Well? Pucker for me.”

 

Regina complied, and Janis fought the urge to kiss her again. There would be dozens of kisses to follow their first one of the night, if the evening went anything like the others. Regina’s hand grabbed onto Janis’s left one, squeezing it gently and resting it on the top of her thigh, all while keeping their gazes connected.

 

The night followed their usual pattern, ending with a sleepover in Regina’s excessively large bed. She’d seen her phone light up countless times during the last few hours, mostly likely coming from their friend’s group chat. They’d be (rightfully) suspicious when neither of them answered, and Janis assumed that at least Damian had figured out that they were secretly dating by now. It was only a matter of time before he brought it up to her.

 

Then, as if she could tell she was distracted, Regina pulled her closer into their embrace under the covers. Janis shut her eyes and relaxed into her, makeup on the nightstand forgotten.

  


**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me: kleksuh.tumblr.com


End file.
